Modules for connecting actuators and/or sensors, which can be purchased on the electronics market, have standardized outer dimensions and mounting hole patterns as well as standardized load feeders. Electric module circuits in the form of p.c. boards, for example, are built into a housing that is mounted on site. For example, a number of modules of this type are provided in a production island in an automobile manufacturing plant. In this case, auxiliary power or control signals, for example, which can be picked off in the form of actuator or sensor outputs at the module load feeders or fed to these circuits via corresponding inputs, are supplied to one or to each of these modules via a cable (actuator/sensor interface bus). For example, a sensor signal of a photoelectric barrier can be supplied to one input of the module in the form of an input signal, while the auxiliary power and/or control signals can be applied via an output of the module, e.g., an actuator in the form of a relay.
The auxiliary power and control signals are conventionally supplied to the module via two flat cables, which are connected to the module after the latter has been positioned and assembled. Contact domes that are provided on the module housing and whose contacts are connected to the p.c. board provided in the housing according to the corresponding electric circuit can be used to establish connections to the various loads. However, the use of flat cables has proven to be highly problematic, especially in areas with extreme external conditions. In welding plants of the metal-working industry, for example, the flat cables are irreversibly damaged by red-hot welding beads, particularly on their corners.